History in the Making

History in the Making

A Collaborative Approach, Open to All, Focused on Preserving the Now

We live in historic times. Here at History Colorado, we are documenting contemporary moments through the preservation of artifacts, photographs, documents and oral histories.  Today’s moments have the power to help illuminate current events for future generations by helping them put their lives into historical context. We believe the future success and relevance of our collection lies in developing relationships with Colorado communities and individuals who will help us tell the stories of our state’s unique, powerful and diverse histories. Please consider helping us in this important work. 

Have a unique story to share?  Email us at curator@state.co.us and put History in the Making in the subject line.

Current Preservation Projects

  • Colorado’s Entrepreneurial Spirit, 1940 to the present.  If you have materials related to Colorado’s Business and Industry Community please complete this form 
  • Military Service (including family and community life) after 1950.  If you have materials related to Colorado’s military history please complete this form
  • Women’s History.  If you have materials related to Colorado’s suffrage history, contemporary women leaders, women as domestic servants, midwifes or other unique stories about women please complete this form 
  • Colorado’s 101st Object: Cast Your Vote 

Colorado Voices: Community Activism & Protest

History Colorado launched the Colorado Voices: Community Activism and Protest collecting project in early June 2020 in response to protests against police brutality that occurred in Colorado and throughout the United States. Branded under the title "History in the Making," the focus of the project documents Coloradans' stories about the protests and subsequent sociopolitical events throughout the state. By placing the current protests in context, History Colorado is building a robust collection and showcasing the important people and stories who’ve contributed to Colorado’s history of Community Activism. Staff involved with the project concluded that collecting in real time as the events unfolded was an efficient, proactive, and inclusive way to document the crisis, and to ensure that both contemporary and future generations could appreciate the stories of those who experienced these events first hand.

If you have materials that would help tell the story of Community Activism, Political involvement and Protest in 2020/2021 please complete this form.

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    Architecture and Urban Planning

    History Colorado holds a rich collection of architecture-related materials that reflect the history of our state’s built environment, from adobe brick molds of the San Luis Valley to the drawings of Ron Straka, who served as Denver’s first deputy director of urban design under Mayor Federico Peña. But we are actively working to expand our architectural holdings to help tell the many histories of Colorado architecture and urban planning.

  • 120818 WOTL, Ryan Erickson, History Colorado

    Colorado's Urban Indian Experience

    Share your experience with us.

    Colorado is home to Indigenous people from over 200 tribal nations including Cheyenne, Arapaho, Lakota, Navajo, Kiowa, Ute, and many others.

    The 2010 Census documented 56,010 people identifying as American Indian / Alaska Native living in Colorado. 46,395 of those individuals were living in the Denver metro and Colorado Springs areas. Furthermore, 104,464 people identified as American Indian / Alaska Native alone or mixed with one or more other ethnic groups living in Colorado.

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    COVID-19

    How has the pandemic changed your life?  Share your experience with us. 

    As the number of coronavirus cases grows in Colorado, we want to hear from you about how the outbreak is changing your daily life.

    How are you navigating work and family needs?
    Has your place of work reduced hours, or been forced to close?
    What steps is your family taking to prevent the virus’s spread?
    What will you remember about this moment?

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    Latino Heritage Collection

    Dedicated to documenting the contributions of Latinos in Colorado, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is strengthening current holdings while developing, supporting and coordinating projects to preserve, promote, and celebrate Latino culture, history, and arts.  Currently, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is working on a contemporary collecting initiative to document Latino Heritage in our state. This exciting and important work seeks to link generations of Latino families and communities to each other and to the history of Colorado. 

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    LGBTQ+ Coloradans

    Currently, the contributions, history, and voices of LGBTQ+ people are minimally represented in the permanent collection of History Colorado, resulting in limited opportunities for the public to engage, explore, and connect with the LGBTQ+ community. Now with generous support from the Gill Foundation, History Colorado will establish the Gill Foundation LGBTQ+ Archive, which will highlight 25 years of work by the Gill Foundation, preserve the legacy of Tim Gill’s philanthropic impact on LGBTQ+ rights in the state, and document Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community.

    History Colorado helps make sense of the world through the filter of history while fostering in every Coloradan an understanding of their own history. In our blogs, our publications, our collecting initiatives and more, we've been gathering and telling the stories of LGBTQ+ Coloradans.

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    Museum of Memory Initiative

    Museum of Memory is a public history initiative that works together with Colorado residents to co-author a shared history. We collaboratively work to reanimate, center and amplify the histories that have long existed only in the margins and create the opportunity for the community to decide how to remember its collective past.

    History Colorado has assisted in nine Museum of Memory projects to date, some of which are still in progress and with more to come.

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    Newspapers Across Colorado

    Since its founding, History Colorado has been collecting and preserving Colorado history.  Among the most significant holdings in the permanent collection are the Colorado newspapers.  With statewide reach and statewide representation, History Colorado’s newspapers include publications from each of the state’s 64 counties, preserving the extraordinary history of ordinary people and capturing history in the making.

Contemporary collecting is:

historic preservation

active and purposeful

collaborative

experimental

responsive to opportunity in the moment

open to unexpected outcomes

identifies what is missing and what is needed

looks at what no longer works